Of the index’s 10 main groups, four advanced, including a 3.4 percent jump in materials, which include gold miners, and a 1.4 percent lift in oil and gas companies.

Gold leaped to a seven-month high on safe-haven demand ahead of a slew of key events on Thursday and after the U.S. dollar fell to a seven-month low. Gold futures GCc1 rose 1.1 percent to $1,293.8 an ounce. [GOL/][FRX/]

Iamgold Corp (IMG.TO) soared 11.7 percent to C$6.78 after Japan’s Sumitomo Metal Mining Co (5713.T) said it agreed to take an interest in a gold mining project from the company for $195 million.

Energy stocks, which have bounced alongside seesawing crude prices, rose as the commodity found technical support after sliding below $47 a barrel. Prices have stumbled amid uncertainty over the impact of an Arab rift over Qatar.[O/R]

“A lot of these names on a year-to-date basis, have been pretty beaten up,” said Manash Goswami, portfolio manager with First Asset Investment Management Inc. “If you’re looking for value, you definitely want to look at sectors that have lagged - energy has been one of those.”

Goswami said the market was otherwise taking a pause, with overall investor sentiment cautious ahead of a busy Thursday which will see Britain heading to voting booths and former FBI director James Comey testifying before the U.S. Congress. The European Central Bank is also meeting the same day. [MKTS/GLOB]

Tempering gains was a 0.6 percent retreat in financial services companies. The group includes Canada’s biggest banks and insurers and accounts for about a third of the index’s weight. Manulife Financial Corp (MFC.TO) declined 1.5 percent to C$23.15, while Royal Bank of Canada (RY.TO) gave up 0.8 percent to finish at C$92.81.